5 shot to death in small Illinois town; gunman killed in police shootout

By CNN Staff

Updated 7:06 PM ET, Wed April 24, 2013

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Illinois State Police Lt. Col. Todd Kilby says, "There is no reason to believe there is any further danger."

Story highlights

Police identify gunman as Rick Odell Smith, 43

Smith, victims were acquainted but not related, police say

Five people were found dead in an apartment in Illinois town of 290 people

Girl, 6, taken to hospital with gunshot wounds, is in critical condition, police say

Five people were killed and a 6-year-old girl was taken to a hospital after a shooting in a tiny western Illinois village early Wednesday, officials said.

The gunman, identified as Rick Odell Smith, 43, was killed after a chase and shootout with police hours later, authorities said.

"There is no reason to believe there is any further danger to the communities or that there are any other suspects," Illinois State Police Lt. Col. Todd Kilby said Wednesday.

Police said they were called to an apartment building in Manchester -- roughly 40 miles southwest of Springfield -- at about 4:30 a.m. (5:30 a.m. ET).

Smith, last known to live in Morgan County, Illinois, forced his way through the back door of an apartment and shot six people inside with a shotgun, police said.

Officers found five people dead, Kilby said. Their identities will not be released until autopsies are performed, Kilby said. The dead included two women, one man and two boys, police said.

A 6-year-old girl was transported to a hospital with gunshot wounds after the gunman "put her in the hands of a neighbor," Kilby said. She was in critical condition, he said.

Witnesses gave police a description of the vehicle in which the attacker fled, and police found Smith in an undisclosed location at about 7:15 a.m., Kilby said.

Police chased and eventually exchanged gunfire with Smith, who was wounded. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Kilby said.

He said that Smith and the victims were acquainted, but not related, and that authorities are still investigating the exact nature of the relationship. The victims inside the apartment were related, he said.

The incident disrupted the village of about 290 people and surrounding communities, with area schools closing for the day, according to police in nearby Winchester.

Manchester is in sparsely populated Scott County. The county had fewer than 6,000 residents as of the 2010 census.

"Fortunately, this type of thing doesn't happen here very often, but this is proof that it can happen," Scott County state's attorney Michael Hill told reporters.